girl's name
Capucine
ka-pu-SEEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 100 (France)
- Births on record 28,544
France
#63
2025 births
Capucine is a girl's name of French origin meaning "nasturtium," the flower, which takes its own name from the hood of a Capuchin friar. It ranks sixty-third in France and is essentially unused anywhere else.
- Capucine is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2014, when 1,225 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 830 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1959.
Capucine over time
Births per decade in France, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 30 |
| 1970s | 385 |
| 1980s | 1,155 |
| 1990s | 2,840 |
| 2000s | 7,315 |
| 2010s | 11,075 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,525 |
What Capucine means
Capucine means nasturtium. The French word for the flower comes from capuche, a hood, because the spurred blossom was thought to resemble the cowl of a Capuchin monk, so the name reaches the flower by way of a garment.
Where Capucine comes from
Capucine is the French name for the nasturtium, from capuce or capuche, a hood, by way of the Capuchin order of friars, whose pointed cowls gave them their name. The same word gives the cappuccino, named for the color of the friars' habit, and the capuchin monkey, named for the cap of dark fur on its head — three quite different things named from one piece of clothing. The name's use as a first name is twentieth-century and belongs above all to the actress Capucine, born Germaine Lefebvre, who took it as a stage name in the 1950s. It sits with Capucine's near-neighbors Apolline and Albane in the current French taste for -ine endings.
Capucine in use
Capucine ranks sixty-third in France with about 710 births in 2025. Our records carry it from 1961, which matches the actress's period of fame closely, and it is essentially absent everywhere else: beyond 5,500 in England and Wales and beyond 13,700 in the United States. A flower name that exists in only one language is unusual, and it makes Capucine one of the most local names in the French top hundred.
How popular is Capucine?
In 2025, Capucine was given to 710 babies in France, ranking #63 that year. It is one of the most popular names in France.
Where Capucine is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Capucine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Capucine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Capucine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Capucine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Capucine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Capucine
What does the name Capucine mean?
Capucine means "nasturtium," the flower, which is itself named after a Capuchin friar's hood.
Is Capucine related to cappuccino?
By the same root. Both come from the Capuchin friars, the coffee from the color of their habit.
How do you pronounce Capucine?
ka-pu-SEEN, with the French u sound in the middle.
Is Capucine used outside France?
Almost never. It sits beyond 5,500 in England and Wales.
How popular is the name Capucine?
In 2025, Capucine was given to 710 babies in France, ranking #63 that year. It is one of the most popular names in France.
Is Capucine a girl's or a boy's name?
Capucine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Capucine most popular?
Capucine peaked in 2014, when 1,225 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Capucine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Capucine currently ranks #63 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.